a scup; scupping

[Joel S. Berson]

At 11/18/2013 05:44 PM, George Thompson wrote:
>Also, the ropes were said to be attached
>to the top of the frame.  Joel's vision would require the ropes to be
>attached to the ends of the frame, or off the frame.

Not exactly.  I saw a horizontal support rod, *along* which the scups
are hung, not at the ends.  Like the modern playground swing set; see
illustration in Wikipedia, "Swing (seat)".  The word "frame" might
refer to what supports the rod -- in the illustration, the angled metal bars.

However, it is true that my prototype did not have the rope (two
ropes per scup) "attached" to the frame -- one end was attached to
the scup and the other end merely slung over the frame (rod).  I
await an engineering solution that more exactly fits the quotation.

I empathize with George's desire to go back in time.  I've recently
been reading about the exhibition of 18th century optical devices
(such as the camera obscura) and automata, and wishing I couldda been
there, since I can hardly envision how they worked or which ones were hoaxes.

Joel

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org